The present invention relates to a respirator system for use in an enclosed contaminated environment. More particularly, the present invention relates to a respirator system including a face mask for use in an environment such as an automobile body shop, furniture refinishing shop or boatyard, to protect an operator or spray mechanism so as to allow normal operations in a toxic or contaminated environment.
Previous protective devices including face masks are described, for example, in the following U.S. Patents: No. 2,818,859 to Peterson; No. 2,965,902 to Louch; No. 3,323,135 to Miller; No. 3,827,433 to Shannon; No. 4,011,865 to Morishita; No. 4,136,688 to Gorman; and No. 4,440,163 to Spergel.
At the present time, auto body painters in particular are being subjected to potential health problems when operating in an environment with paint products containing isocyantes such as are found in polyurethane paint additives. The use of various types of safety equipment such as downdraft booths and air-line respirators has not prevented the occurrence of health problems such as dizziness and nausea, as well as possible long-term effects such as kidney damage and neurological disease.
By the present invention, there is provided an improved respirator system which protects the head of the operator in a contaminated environment so as to allow the operator to have improved visibility as well as to breathe freely while operating in a contaminated or toxic environment. The present respirator system includes a facepiece having a lens portion which provides improved visibility to both sides as well as above and below the operator, an improvement which is of particular advantage to an operator of painting equipment in an automobile body shop. The facepiece is provided with a seal around the head portion of the wearer with connection through a suitable hose ventilating system to a source of uncontaminated air at atmospheric pressure. The respirator is of the class B type, in which air is brought into the lungs from a source of uncontaminated air through the bodily breathing function of the operator alone, without the use of an air compressor or a supply of compressed air.